Hygroscopic air conditioner



Nov. 6, 1956 M. B. GOETZ HYGROSCOPIC AIR CONDITIONER Filed April 25, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WATER SUPPLY 42 INVENTOR film/m5; BERNARD G05 rz ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1956 M. B. GOETZ 2,769,313

HYGROSCOPIC AIR CONDITIONER 5 Shets-Sheet 3 Filed April 25, 1954 INVENTOR M/a/mn BER/YARD G05 rz AASATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1956 M. B. GOETZ HYGROSCOPIC AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 23, 1954 INVENTOR W6 ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1956 M. B. GOETZ HYGROSCOPIC AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 25, 1954 INVENTOR Z Mama flax/mm 6'05 rz R E T A W ,9 ATTORNEY Patented Norr, 6, 1956 United States Patent Oflice HYGROSCOPIC AIR CONDITIONER Michael Bernard Goetz, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application April 23, 1954, Serial No. 425,249

14 Claims. (Cl. 62-6) This invention relates to a hydroscopic air conditioner, and has for one of its objects the production of an apparatus for dehumidifying and cooling air, wherein water is used as a refrigerant and wherein heat is the sole source of power.

A further object of this invention is the production of an apparatus wherein air cooling and dehumidification takes place at atmospheric pressure.

A still further object of this invention is the production of a method of utilizing evaporatively cooled water circulated through a coil to reduce the equilibrium dewpoint of an air-absorbent mixture, and in turn utilize the low dew-point air thus obtained to evaporatively cool said water, and simultaneously remove sensible heat from said air.

Another object of this invention is the production of .a method of continously generating pressure by boiling .-a relatively low boiling temperature liquid in a mixture with a relatively high boiling temperature liquid in which the low pressure liquid mixture is intermittently returned to a high pressure generator, alternately filling an auxiliary chamber by gravity at low pressure, and emptying said chamber by gravity at the high pressure of a generator, by means of check valves and the like, the heat of the generator being utilized to equalize the pressure of said chamber and that of said generator during the emptying cycle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the housing for the dehumidifier and evaporative cooler with the side panel removed to show the interior of the housing and the operating parts therein;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure-shown in Figure 1 with the top panel of the housing removed;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the regenerator and thermal re-circulator assembly;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the interchanger coil;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the interchanger coil;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the eliminators;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of the assembled units of the apparatus, certain elements being shown in diagram.

By referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the hygroscopic air conditioner consists of four main units, generally designated as a dehumidifier A, an evaporative cooler or chamber B, a regenerator C, and a thermal re-circulator D.

A housing 15, preferably of sheet metal, is provided containing a dehumidifier chamber A, in which is located a series of spray nozzles 16 in the upper end of the verti calchamber A. A primary cooling coil 18, preferably 2 a finned coil of the conventional type, is preferably supported midway of the chamber A, as shown in Figure 1. A similar secondary cooling coil 19, preferably a finne'd coil, is mounted below the primary cooling coil 18, the

coils being connected by a coupling 20; The housing 15 is provided with an air inlet 21 which is located above the spray nozzles 16. A pre-cooling coil 22 is located near the bottom of the evaporative cooler or chamber B within the housing 15, and is connected to the spray nozzles 16 which are located in the top of the dehumidifier A by means of a pipe 23. Cool concentrated sorbent (concentrate) passes from this pre-cooling coil 22 in the evaporative cooler chamber B, up through the pipe 23 and is sprayed over the primary and secondary cooling coils 18 and 19 and is brought into intimate contact with air from the conditioned space outside of the housing 15, which air is drawn in through the air inlet 21 at the top of the dehumidifier A, or the chamber thereof. The dew-point is thereby reduced, and moisture is removed by the absorbing action of the concentrate, and the cooling action of the water passing through the coils 18 and 19.

The cool dehumidified air now passes up through eliminator 24 which is supported between the vertical spaced partitions 25 and 26, which partitions separate the chambers A and B. The'partition 25 is provided with an outlet 2 7-near its open end and the partition 26 terminates short of the top of the housing 15, thereby defining an opening 28. The eliminator 24 comprises an upwardlyinclined frame 29 which supports a plurality of transverse vertically spaced partly overlapping plates 30 arranged in step-like formation, as shown in detail in Figure 7, thereby requiring a circuitous passage for the air and to collect excess moisture as the air passes therethrough. Thedilute sorbent falls by gravity to the bottom of the chamber of the dehumidifier A, and is conducted to the bottom of the interchanger shell of the regenerator hereinafter described, by means of a depending pipe 31.

An eductor 32 connects the primary cooling coil 18 with the secondary cooling coil 19, and the water supply line is also connected to this eductor, so that the cooling fluid to the primary coil 18 is a mixture of water from the supply line and discharge water from the secondary coil 19. The mixing takes place in the water jet eductor 32, which is of a conventional type. The cooling water to the secondary coil 19 is drawn through the coil 19 from the evaporative cooler B by the suction action of the eductor in the conventional manner through the pipe 42.

The evaporative cooler chamber B is preferably formed in the housing 15 adjacent thedehumidifier A. Spray nozzles 33 are carried near the upper end of the chamber B, laterally of audfpreferably below, the opening 28 definedby the upper end of the partition 26. A third partition 34 is laterally spaced from the partition 26 and extends downwardly from the top of the housing 15 to close off the upper portion of the chamber B at the top thereof from the sub-chamber B' in which the spray nozzles 33 are mounted: The partition 34 terminates short of the bottom of the housing 15, thereby defining a communicating opening 35. An upwardly inclined eliminator 36, similar to the eliminator 24, separates the lower portion of the evaporative cooler chamber B from the upper blower chamber 37.' An air blower 38 is mounted in the upper end of the blower chamber 37,

the blower'38 being driven by a motor 39. The air blower 38 is of the conventional type and is adapted to draw the cool air from the chamber B and discharge the same from the outlet 40. A suitable overflow pipe 41 is carried by the housing 15 near the bottom of the chamber B, above the normal water-lineand the pre Figure 3.

o l g e 2 19 arr 9!? t e o e flo IQ the chamber B. Chamber B is provided with a float 9 and electrical transmitter 10 to automatically maintain a constant water level in said chamber, by, controlling the e of a e 9 the s y marks 3 t mu h. n au matic valve 11 connected to said transmitter, in-the conventional manner.

It should be noted that low dew-point air from the dehumidifier A enters through opening 28 at the top of the sub-chamber B, and is brought into intimate contact with water sprayed into the chamber B from the supply line 42 through the nozzles 33. The air becomes saturated, or nearly so, thereby reducing the temperature of both the water and the air within the chamber 13. The air then passes through the eliminator 36 and is dischar e nte h ndit qnsd space out i e t the housing 1 5, by means of the blower 38. The cold a e falls by ra t o th b ttem of chamber B, from which it is sucked: into the secondary coil 19 by means of the suction pipe 42, as explained a ev i u tio P e 42 atten to h tt m f the chamber B below the water line, and is connected o l r and 9 h ssssndar o l 2 as Shown in Figure 1. Water enters through the spray nozzles at the exact rate at which it is being sucked through the S on o l n l th a ion o th level c regenerator Q constitutes a part of the present system and apparatus, and comprises an insulated outer cylinder 43 closed at the top and open at the bottom. This outer cylinder 43 preferably comprises a metal cylindrical body having an inset depending apron or skirt An insulating o e .3- Of an uitab e yp encases e me l ind ca body, as h wn in F u e The inverted floating element or cover 45 is, slidably mounted within the depending apron or skirt 44v as is shown in Figure 3 je t to m s h r sp es u e d fi an expansible vapor receiving chamber. The lower end of the outer cylinder-i3 extends down into the base tray 47, h bottom e n supp t d n spac d r at o o th bottom of the base tray 41 by legs L, or other suitable means. The bottom open end of; the. outer cylinder 43 extends down below the upper edge of the base tray 47, as shown. I

An intermediate. un-insulated cylinder 48: open at its top. and closed at its bottom, is secured to the base tray 47-. An interchanger coil 42 is fitted Within the 'mtermediate cylinder 48 between the wall of the cylinder 48 and the outer wall of a thermal reecirculator D, which re -circulator D fits inwardly of the coil and rests upon the bottom of the base tray 47 in the manner shown in The pipe. 31-, as stated aboye, connects to the bottom oi the interchanger shel-l- 31 which constitutes the coil containing space between the intermediate cylinder 48 and the thermal re-circulator D. This thermal re-circulator D is preferably metal lined and suitably insulated. The coil is preferably braced by theinner and outer strips 51 and- 52, respectively, shown in detail in Figures and 6. The upper end of the coil 49- communicates with the interior of the thermal re-circulator 1;), as at: 56, as shown in Figure 3, and the lower end of the coil 49 is connected bya, pipe 57' to the, precooling coil 22.

Cold dilute sorbent from the. bottom ofthe dehumidifier- A flows by gravity into the bottom of; the interchanger shell 31 through pipe 31, and then upwardly over the coil and overflows the outer wall of the insulated chamber constituting the thermal: re-circulator D, rising'into the space occupied by the floating cover as described above. Hotconcentrate from the thermal re-circulator D enters the coil at 56 at the top thereof, and flowsunder pressure through the coil 49and thence to the precooling coil 22 by means of pipe 57. The hot concentrate is cooled, and the cold dilute sorbent is heated in an interchange of heat, and the. heating of the dilute sorbent causes the entrained moisture to. evaporate. The, vapor flows down through the space between the outer cylinder 43 and the interchange shell 31, Where it condenses, the heat of condensation returning to the dilute sorbent in the interchanger shell 31 The thermal re-circulator D comprises an insulated closed chamber 50 in which is located a make-up chamber 58 having an enlarged depending apron 59, the bottom open end 59" of which terminates short of the bottom of the thermal re-circulator D. An electric immersion heater 60, and the bulb 61 of a thermostat 62, are enclosed in the insulated closed chamber of the thermal re-circulator D, as shown in Figure 3.

Hot concentrate from the regenerator C flows into the make-up chamber through a ball check valve 63 of a conventional type, carrying with it some water introduced into the floating cover 45 which is above the thermal recircula'tor D, as shown in Figure 3. It then flows out of the bottom of the make-up chamber 58 through a ball check valve 64, of a conventional type, and fills the outer chamber 50 of the re-circulator D and the interior of the apron 59, as well as the make-up chamber 58. The displaced vapor is vented through the capillary pipes 55 from the apron 59, and 5:0" from the make-up chamber 58., and bubbles up through the concentrate above. The heat supplied by the immersion heater 60 raises the temperature or" the slightly dilute sorbent, and when the boiling temperature of the entrained moisture is reached, pressure builds up in the chamber 58 closing the check valve 63. The liquid in the makeup chamber then flows through the check valve 64, thereby forcing concentrate into the interchanger coil 49 through the opening 56 at the top of the chamber 50%. When the make-up chamber is empty of liquid, no further vaporization takes place in that chamber, and the pressure is relieved through the capillary vent 55 vaporization continues in the apron 59 and the pressure created closes the valve 64.

As vaporization continues in the apron 59, the liquid continues to flow out to the coil 49, at the same rate, lowering the liquid level in the apron 59. In the meantime, the pressure in the make-up chamber 58 equalizes with the atmosphere, thereby causing the check valve 63 to open again, and the same quantity of liquid is allowed to flow in as is discharged through the coil to the dehumidifier nozzles 16 and back to the interchanger shell of the regenerator by gravity. The make-up chamber 58 re-fills and becomes heated by the surrounding liquid, thereby causing the pressure to again increase and to close the check valve 63. When the temperature, and hence the pressure, equalize s with that of the liquid in the chamber 50, the liquid in the make-up chamber will flow by gravity, due to the greater head, through the check valve 64 and re-fill the apron 59. The displaced vapor passes through the capillary vent 55 to the area under the floating cover.

The cycle then repeats itself. The rate of flow is controlled by the thermostat setting. Once the operation starts, the amount of vapor remaining in the system will be the exact amount needed to maintain continuous operation, and the sorbent leaving the system will be nearly free of water. The water in the make-up chamber, and apron, alternately evaporates in these chambers, and condenses in the floating cover atatmospheric pressure.

The amount of concentration attained will depend on the temperature at which the apparatus operates, which is controlled by the thermostat 60. The maximum. setting of said thermostat 60, will be. that at which thecontinuousrate of flow to. the nozzles 16 is exactly equal to the rate at which. the make-up chamber 58 is able to return liquid to the. apron 5 of. the generator D, intermittently. If the temperature setting is higher than. said. maximum,

the flow to the nozzles 16 will. be interrupted on each certain elements being shown in diagram for the purpose of simplification. As previously set forth, cold concentrated sorbent passes from the pre-cooling coil 22 in the evaporative cooler B, and is sprayed from the nozzles 16 over the primary and secondary cooling coils 18 and 19 in the chamber A. The sprayed sorbent is brought into intimate contact with air from the conditioned space outside of the housing 15, through the air inlet 21. The dew-point is reduced, the moisture being removedby the absorbing action of the concentrate and the cooling action of the water passing through the coils 18 and 19.

The cool dehumidified air passes from the chamber A up through the eliminator 24 into the evaporative cooler B, as set forth previously. The dilute sorbent falls by gravity to the bottom of the chamber of the dehumidifier A and is conducted to the bottom of the interchanger shell 31 of the regenerator C. The cooling water to the primary coil 22 is a mixture of water from the supply line S and discharge water from the secondary coil. Mixing takes place in the water jet eductor 32. The cooling water to the secondary coil 19 is drawn through the coil 19 from the evaporative cooler B by the suction action of the eductor 32. The water is then discharged from the primary coils 18 to the drain.

Low dew-point air from the dehumidifier A enters opening 28 over the top of the partition 26, and is brought into intimate contact with water sprayed into the chamber B through nozzles 33 which are connected to a supply line. The air becomes saturated, or nearly so, thereby reducing the temperature of both the water and the air. The air then passes up through the eliminator 36 and is discharged from the housing and chamber B by the blower 38. The cold water falls by gravity to the bottom of chamber B where it is sucked into the secondary coil 19 through pipe 42. Cool concentrate from the interchanger coil 49 of the regenerator C flows through the pre-cooling coil 22 from pipe 57, further reducing its temperature, and then to the nozzles 16 of the dehumidifier A.

Cold dilute sorbent from the bottom of the dehumidifier A flows by gravity into the bottom of the interchanger shell 31 through pipe 31 and upwardly over the coil and overflows into the thermal re-cinculator D through check valve 63. Hot concentrate from the thermal recirculator D enters the coil 49 at the top through the opening 56 and flows under pressure down through the coil 49 and thence to the pro-cooler coil 22 through pipe 57. The hot concentrate is cooled and the cold dilute sorbent is heated in an interchange of heat, and the heating of the dilute sorbent causes the entrained moisture to evaporate.

The vapor fiows down through the annular space V which is formed between the outer cylinder 44 and the intermediate cylinder 48 where it condenses, the heat of condensation returning to the dilute sorbent in the interchanger shell 31*.

. Hot'concentrate from the regenerator C flows into the make-up chamber 58, through the ball check valve 63 and then out through the bottom of the make-up chamber through ball check valve 64 and fills the outer chamber 50 of the re-circulator D, the apron-59, and the make-up chamber 58. The displaced vapor is vented through capillary openings or pipes 55 and 55 and-bubbles up through the' concentrate above. The heat supplied by the immersion heater 60 raises the temperature of the slightly dilute sorbent and when the boiling temperature of the entrained moisture is reached pressure builds up in the chambers closing the check valve 63. The liquid in the make-up chamber then flows through the check valve 64, thereby forcing concentrate into the interchanger coil 49 through the opening 56. When the make-up chamber is empty, of liquid, no further vaporization takes place in thatfchamber, and the pressure is relieved through the capillary vent or pipe 55 Vaporization continues in the apron 59, and the pressure created closes check valve 64. As vaporization continues, the pressure in the make- '6 up chamber e'qualizes with the atmosphere, causing check valve 63 to open again, and the same quantity of liquid is allowed to flow therein, as is discharged through the coil 49 to the dehumidifier nozzles 16 and back to the interchanger 31 by gravity.

The make-up chamber 58 then re-fills, and becomes heated by the surrounding liquid, thereby causing the pressure to again increase and close the check valve 63. When the temperature, and hence the pressure, equalizes with that of the liquid in the outer chamber V the liquid in the make-up chamber flows by gravity (due to the greater head) through the check valve 64 and refills the apron 59, the displaced vapor passes through the capillary vent or pipe 55 to the floating cover which is free to rise and fall under the action of the vapor. The cycle then repeats itself.

It should be noted that air cooling and dehumidification take place at atmospheric pressure. The refrigerant is water, and the dehumidifying agent is liquid sorbent, such as tri-ethylene glycol. Water from the available supply is used for cooling the air absorbent mixture in the dehumidifying process.

It should be understood further that one feature of the invention includes a method of conditioning air through the medium of the apparatus above described, utilizes evaporatively cooled water which is circulated through a coil to reduce the equilibrium dew-point of an air-sorbent mixture, and in turn utilizes the low dewpoint air thus obtained to evaporatively cool said water while simultaneously removing sensible heat from said air.

A second feature of the invention includes the method of generating pressure by means of heat, to pump a liquid continuously, low pressure liquid being intermittently returned to a high pressure generator, alternately filling an auxiliary chamberby gravity at low pressure, and emptying said chamber by gravity at the high pressure of the generator, by means of check valves 63 and 64, the heat of the generator being utilized to equalize the pressure of said chamber and that of said generator during the emptying cycle.

The advantages are:

1. It is simple in operation and construction.

2. It is inexpensive to construct. v

3. It has no mechanical or electrical machinery to get out of order, except a motor driven air blower.

4. It is highly eflicient, utilizing nearly all the power input.

5. The air conditioning cycle of operation is at atmospheric pressure.

6. It requires no refrigerant.

7. It will operate with any liquid hygroscopic agent.

8. It lends itself to easy control of humidity and temperature.

9. It washes the air and delivers it perfectly clean, with or without filters. I

10. It is a vast improvement over other open absorption systems in that it reduces to a minimum the coil surface required in the dehumidifier, and the quantity of hygroscopic liquid re-circulated.

11. The entire apparatus may be operated within the conditioned space, requiring no communication to the outside, except water supply and waste lines. I

Having described the invention, what I claim as new is:

1. An air conditioning system of the class described comprising a dehumidifier, an evaporative cooler com municating with said dehumidifier, a regenerator and thermal re-circulator unit, said unit having a plurality of fluid evaporating chambers, a floating element in said unit above said chambers subjected to atmospheric pressure and defining an expansible vapor receiving chamber, means for delivering vapor from said first mentioned .fluid evaporating chambers to .said expansible vaporreceiving-chamber, said last mentionedmeans also providing a fluid passage from said expansible vapor receiving chamber into said fluid evaporating chambers, means for conveying cold dilute sorbent from said dehumidifier to said expansible vapor receiving chamber, a heating means for the fluid in said fluid evaporating chambers, and means for conveying concentrate from said fluid evaporating chambers to said dehumidifier.

2. A system as defined in claim 1, including an air inlet for said dehumidifier, and an air discharge for said evaporative cooler.

3. A system as defined in claim 1, including an air inlet for said dehumidifier, and an air blower in said evaporative cooler for discharging cooled air from said evaporative cooler.

4. An air conditioning system of the class described comprising a dehumidifier having an air inlet, fluid spray elements adjacent said air inlet, a primary coil in the path of the spray from said spray elements, a secondary coil communicating with said primary coil, an evaporative cooler communicating with said dehumidifier, spray elements in said evaporative cooler, said evaporative cooler having an air outlet for discharging cooled air from the cooler, a pre-cooling coil in said evaporative cooler connected to said first mentioned spray elements for supplying cool concentrate thereto, a regenerator and thermal re-circulator unit having an interchanger shell, an interchanger coil in said shell, means conveying fluid from said dehumidifier to said interchanger shell, means connecting said precooling coil with said interchanger coil for conveying cool fluid from said interchanger coil to said pro-cooling coil to further reduce the temperature of said fluid, a thermal re-circulator element in said unit, a heat element in said thermal re-circulator element, a make-up chamber in said thermal re-circulator element, a skirt-like chamber carried by said make-up chamber and having an open lower end, a float subjected to atmospheric pressure defining an expansible vapor receiving chamber above said make-up chamber, a check valve controlling communication between the make-up chamber and said expansible chamber, a second check valve controlling communication between said skirt-like chamber and said make-up chamber, a capillary vent providing communication between the make-up chamber and said expansible chamber, a second capillary vent providing communication between said skirtlike chamber and said expansible chamber, a base tray for said unit, and said unit having an insulated outer cylinder extending down into said tray.

5. A system as defined in claim 4, wherein a jet eductor is interposed between said primary and said secondary coils, a supply line connected to said eductor, a suction pipe connected to said secondary coil and extending into said evaporative cooler to draw cooling fluid therefrom for mixing with the supply fluid entering the eductor.

6. A system as defined in claim 4, with the addition that an eliminator for extracting moisture is interposed between the dehumidifier and the evaporative cooler, a spray element in said evaporative cooler, and an eliminator for extracting moisture interposed between said air outlet of said evaporative cooler and said last mentioned spray element.

7. A system as defined in claim 4 with the addition that, a thermostat is carried within said regenerator to control the temperature therein.

8. A heat actuated open. air conditioning apparatus comprising a heat generating means to continuously pump a fluid, a high pressure generator, means for intermittently returning low pressure fluid to said high pressure generator, an auxiliary chamber, means for alternately filling said auxiliary chamber by gravity at atmospheric pressure, and emptying said auxiliary chamber by gravity at high pressure of said generator, the heat of the generator being utilized to equalize the pressure of said chamber and that of said genera-tor during the emptying cycle.

9. A heat actuated open air conditioning apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein check valves are included to control the filling and emptying of said auxiliary chamber.

16. The method of generating pressure within an open apparatus by means of heat to continuously pump a fluid within a generator, and wherein low pressure fluid is intermittently returned to a high pressure generator, alternately filling an auxiliary chamber by gravity at low pressure, then emptying said chamber by gravity at high pressure of said generator, and utilizing the heat from said generator to equalize the pressure of said chamber and that of said generator during the emptying cycle.

11. The method of generating pressure within an open air conditioning apparatus by means of heat to continuously pump a fluid within a generator, and wherein low pressure fluid is intermittently returned to a high pressure generator, alternately filling an auxiliary chamber by gravity at low pressure, then emptying said chamber by gravity at high pressure of said generator through the medium of check valves, and utilizing the heat from said generator to equalize the pressure of saidchamber and that of said generator during the emptying cycle.

12. A hygroscopic air conditioning system comprising a dehumidifier, said dehumidifier comprising a primary cooling means and a secondary cooling means; an evaporative cooler communicating with and receiving dehumidified air from said dehumidifier to condition air at atmospheric pressure in a manner whereby all of the air in the conditioned space may be recirculated through the conditioning system maintaining the conditioned space at a predetermined dry bulb temperature and relative humidity thereby eliminating the necessity for introducing outside air, means for supplying an evaporatively cooled fluid to said secondary cooling means, means for mixing an auxiliary cooling fluid with the fluid discharged from said secondary cooling means, and a regenerating and thermal re-circulating means communicating with said dehumidifier, and said thermal re-circulator utilizing heat as its source of power to provide re-circulation of the dehumidifying agent.

13. A hygroscopic air conditioning system as defined. in claim 12, wherein the regenerating and thermal recirculating means comprises a generator, an auxiliary make-up chamber, a heat interchanger, all interconnected, a heat element, means for returning dilute sorbent from said dehumidifier to a portion of said interchanger, means for concentrating said sorbent in said portion of said interchanger, means for returning said concentrated sorbent to said generator automatically and intermittently through the medium of said auxiliary make-up chamber, the heat of said generator being used as a medium for equalizing pressure of said generator and make-up chamber to induce gravity flow from said auxiliary make-up chamber to the generator.

14. A heat actuated air conditioning apparatus comprising an area for heating and concentrating a cool dilute sorbent, a regeneration area in heat transfer relationshipwith said first mentioned area and including means for recovering all the latent heat of vaporization generated in the process of regeneration of the dilute sorbent by condensing the vapors within the regeneration area, and means for discharging the condensate at a reduced temperature.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,146,078 Ullstrand Feb. 7, 1939 2,156,293 Kaufman May 2, 1939 2,162,158 Coey June 13, 19-39 2,237,622 Hubacker Apr. 8, 1941 2,256,940 Crawford Sept. 23, 1941 

